Travis Marmon
Sports Editor
The Wooster baseball team had a strong weekend, sweeping a doubleheader at home against Wabash College on Saturday and splitting two games at Case Western Reserve University on Sunday. The Scots improved their record to 14-7 on the season (3-1 NCAC).
Wooster played its best baseball in the first game against Wabash. Steve Hagen ’14 took the mound and threw a complete-game shut out (six hits, 10 strikeouts, no walks in just 94 pitches), stifling the Little Giants’ batters. After two scoreless innings, the Scots broke the game open in the bottom of the third with a three-run homer by Eddie Reese ’14. Craig Day ’14 added an RBI single in the sixth to give Wooster a 4-0 victory.
The second game against Wabash was not as easy. Kyle Koski ’14 played well enough to earn the win, but his day was over after throwing 112 pitches, allowing six hits and walking five batters in 5 2/3 innings. The Scots started scoring in the fourth inning after Reese scored off a fielding error. Later in the inning, Shane Gallagher ’14 hit a fly ball with the bases loaded to score Brendan Taylor ’15, giving Wooster a 2-0 lead.
The Little Giants left eight men on base during the first five innings, but finally got on the board in the sixth on an RBI single to centerfield, making it a 2-1 game. The Scots pushed their advantage back to two runs at the bottom of the inning when Jarrod Mancine ’14 took a walk with the bases loaded.
Wabash scored on another RBI single at the top of the seventh inning, but Wooster pulled away thanks to a two-run homer by pinch-hitter Billy Farrow ’14, which gave the team a 5-2 lead. Jon Rothman ’14 and Zach Klein ’14 did not allow a hit in the final two innings, ensuring victory.
The Scots traveled to Cleveland on Sunday for a pair of thrilling games against Case Western. The Spartans got off to a hot start against Wooster ace Keenan White ’13, scoring two runs in each of the first two innings and jumping out to a 4-0 lead. But the defense was able to stop the bleeding while the offense generated nine runs in the next four innings.
Bryan Miller ’14 put the Scots on the board with an RBI single to left center in the third. White struck out all three batters at the bottom of the inning to keep it at 4-1. Day made it a 4-2 game when his fourth-inning grounder scored John McLain ’15. Mancine hit an RBI double in the fifth to close the game to 4-3.
Wooster’s offense blew the game open in the sixth inning, scoring six runs on five hits. Taylor started it with an RBI double, and Gallagher hit a fly-out to send him home. Ryan Miner ’14 got an RBI on a bunt at the next at-bat. Miller hit a single that scored two runners, and he ultimately made it a 9-4 game after scoring on a fielding error. The Spartans rallied but did not recover, losing 9-7.
The Scots suffered their only defeat of the weekend in the second game at Case. Matt Felvey ’14 took the loss, allowing five runs and eight hits in eight innings. Down 5-1 in the eighth inning, Wooster made things close with two RBIs. Frank Vance made it 5-4 with an RBI double in the ninth, but Johnathan Ray ’13 struck out to end the game.
The Scots played Baldwin Wallace College on Tuesday after press time. They will host Hiram College for two games each tomorrow and Sunday. The first games are at noon and